Brothers and sisters, we are called to persist in our call to Franciscan spirituality. And persist we will do. We know about Franciscan joy; we know that Christ strengthens us and that we are made strong through our trust in Our Savior and His merciful love for us. No one can take away this determination and no one can separate us from the love of Christ. He is our model! St Francis ever points us towards His words written in Sacred Scripture. "Do not be afraid! I am with you!" Recall these words from St. Peter: "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you. But rejoice in so far as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you." (Peter 4:12-14). No one can separate us from the love of God; not men; not evil; rest assured of this truth!

The material in this meditation was inspired by praying the Morning & Evening Prayers on a daily basis and wishing to share this love and joy with all of you (Click on title to read).   We hope this brief meditation helps us all reach our most important goal ~ the reason we entered the Franciscan Order in the first place… to grow into a more intimate relationship with God so as to become one with Him in mind, heart, and actions.   The author is Marie Thomas, Regional Minister of the Five Franciscan Martyrs Region. Written June, 2017.

Brother and Sisters, let us pray that we remain true to our vocational call as Secular Franciscans. We are called to seek God's guidance daily, realize our need for daily conversion, and be aware of going from life to Gospel and Gospel to life. May we truly be Servants to all, providing our presence to each person we meet on our daily journey. St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us!  St. Clare of Assisi, pray for us!  Mary, our Mother in all things, pray for us!